Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
by aphtrashbin
Summary: Gilbert's a real life superhero. Too bad he's also the most wanted criminal in the city, the only source of income for his 4 year old brother, the love of his life is the girlfriend of his enemy, and his blind date really wants to kill him. Remake! Shameless PruHun fic.
1. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

"Fuckin' H Christ." Gilbert cursed loudly, his eyes widening as he fumbled to his feet, while his blind date turned into an ice monster, and threw him into a wall. He grunted at the impact, sitting there a second until people had left the building, fleeing in fright, and immediately after they were gone, he threw himself out of the way as she tossed a chunk of ice at him. "First dates and me just never seem to go together…" He shrugged, and grinned confidently, his eyes staring the creature down. "That's fine with me, though! I'd be happy to kick your ass!"

He pulled himself to his feet once again, hearing the terrified screams of the people outside, leaving the scene of the typical cheesy Italian restaurant. He put on his mask in a heartbeat, before he noticed that the monster that had been a rather pretty, though cold (pun _fully_ intended), woman known as Natalia Arlovskaya had thrown a chunk of ice meant for his head towards him again, and he jumped aside before he caught his breath.

"You look a lot uglier like this." The albino said behind his mask, brow furrowing, his lips pursing out as he taunted her lightly, before clapping his hands together. "Damn!" He then shrugged. "I thought that had been going okay, actually! What a raging disappointment!"

The monster shrieked, and charged him, but this time, he was ready, and he caught her hands in his own, using his super strength to stop her in her tracks, though his feet bearing down on the floor to stop her dead tore up the bad flooring. Eh. It hadn't looked that great anyway. He changed his bearing on the floor, bent down a little, and then threw her over his shoulder, into the wall he had been thrown against himself.

That had hurt- a lot.

Gilbert had to be honest with himself- he wasn't known for letting things go that easily.

She grunted in pain, and he hopped away, out of her reach, fast, avoiding the swing of her crystalized arm. He was caught by the feet though, and grunted as he hit the ground and had the wind knocked out of him. He immediately rolled over and out of the way just as her fist came down on the spot where he had been. He stood back up, patting his clothes down, frowning as he noted how now they were all but destroyed.

"I'm getting too old for this stuff." Gilbert complained when Natalia charged him again, and this time he just tripped her, causing her to topple over and shatter, before she transformed back into her human self, the frosty blue eyes absolutely furious with him, staring him down and trying to cut him open.

"Sorry princess!" He laughed, and grinned, before he snapped his fingers to make sparks fly, and then made a fireball to use against her, getting ready to go on the offensive.

But, by this point, (of fucking course) the police had arrived. Shots rang out, one of them actually hitting Gilbert in the shoulder. The woman across from him shrieked in pain, evidently shot as well.

"This isn't my day man." The masked man complained, looking to the blue-eyed demon of a woman. "Let's finish this later." He said to her, grinning behind his white mask. The police outside had started to prepare to fire the flamethrowers at them. Natalia barely paid him any attention, but nodded anyway, and she jumped out the side of the building, and he took off after her, running as they shot at him.

"I'm the good guy!" He cried back at them, shaking his head to clear his head up, feeling woozy. God that hurt!

He took out some of his equipment, and used his climbing equipment to jump over an alley wall, and once he cleared that, he was in the clear. "God." He had to stop and catch his breath. He had two bullet holes in him, one in his shoulder, and the other in his abdomen.

Fuckin' A.

XXXX

He collapsed just outside his favorite haunt- a haunt that had given him wounds similar to the ones he had now- But he had found that he could never stray too far from it, not permanently, at least. Gilbert grunted, and plopped down on a tree branch above _her_ window, taking out his tweezers and pulling the bullet out of his abdomen.

"Fuckin." He cursed, toes curling in his shoes as he struggled to stay quiet. He bit his lip, and threw the bullet to the side, and breathed hard as he started to bandage it. The one in his shoulder could wait until later. He drew blood from his lip then, and cursed again.

The mask was a pain to wash. It might shrink! Which would suck dicks because it was already pretty tight.

He bandaged up his wounds, using some body tape to ensure the bandages stay stuck to him. He got up, and started running back to his home, unaware someone close by was watching him.

XXXX

Gilbert managed to stumble back to his home, groaning as he made it through the front door. Ludwig had been dropped off from aftercare, and was going over to him as he put his tiny hands around Gilbert's legs.

"Took you forever!" He cried, taking his tiny fists and pounding them against Gilbert's legs. "For-ev-er!" And Gilbert had to chuckle weakly.

"Sorry little man, my date went badly." He said, kissing Ludwig's forehead as he picked him up. "Sorry Lutz, that took much longer than it was supposed to." He apologized again, and cradled him. "Let's get you some dinner." He took the potato soup off the crock-pot, and then took out bowls for the two of them. "You should have called Mrs. Marsh. She would have gotten you dinner!"

"I didn't wanna." He whined from Gilbert's arms, hanging onto him. "You promised to be home by eight!" The child paused. "But, I suppose I have to feel sorry for you…sorry 'bout your date…"

"Don't worry. She was a real frosty bitch." Again with the pun _fully_ intended, Gilbert joked about his date to the _complete_ly unknowing Ludwig. The elder set the blonde down at the table, and put a bowl in front of him. "Dinner, and then straight to bed, mister. It's already ten, and you're going to be _so_ _**cranky**_ in the morning." This caused Ludwig to make a general noise of unhappiness.

"What about desserttt…" He whined, and Gilbert laughed.

"I'll make you a pie in the morning, how about that?" And that made the child quickly change his tune, to Gilbert's delight.

"Okay!" He squeaked, messily taking his spoon to slurp down the creamy soup. His brother was quite the cutie. He laughed softly, and left to go to the bathroom.

"Be right back." He called to him, going to bandage his wounds properly. It looked like the one in his abdomen hadn't hit anything serious, and they would patrol the hospitals as they always did for him to show up. But he wasn't stupid; Roderich would never get the pleasure of seeing him in jail, or given the death penalty, which wasn't actually death, but rather, something that wasn't death…

Now, Roderich had always assumed that he was the so-called menace that was a "vigilante".

The menace himself preferred to be called the White Knight though, because that had been his name in the glory days, and his few followers online still thought of him as that.

Roderich was also his cousin, and the man who had stolen the love of his life.

Bonus was, he was never able to prove he was the White Knight, and looked like a fool in front of Elizaveta when he went on a rampage to try and "Prove" his guilt as an armed and unregistered Super. But to most, he was just a common idiot with a narcissism problem.

He wrapped himself in bandages, grumbling as he felt his skin start itching as it sewed itself together. There would be scars there. Just another couple to add to the dozens there that were already littering his skin.

He put his shirt back on, and went out to his brother, who had finished eating, and now was sitting patiently, waiting for him. "Now we get you to bed, squirt."  
"Don't call me that! One day I'm going to be big! Bigger than you!" He said, confidently.

"Really now? Well, I best enjoy being bigger while I still can." He noogied him, and Ludwig cried with laughter, squirming in his arms. "Silly goose." He said in German, and walked up the stairs with his brother in his arms.

"Night, big brother." He said, sleepily. Gilbert tucked him in once he was in Lutz's room, and then turned off the lights, going downstairs to get into full costume. He still had to deal with Natalia, after all.

XXXX

"So you came back." Natalia said, her blue eyes slits. "I didn't know my bad date was the White Knight. How interesting."

"It's not like my breath smelled like garlic. You had positively _awful_ breath." Gilbert joked, watching her from behind his mask.

"I however, am not interested in fighting my own kind. Unregistered Supers I can respect." She bowed her head. "I mistook you for someone else. Someone registered and a **blood traitor**." She muttered those words with venom. "I heard he was in this area. German sounding. Stuck up."

"Ouch." He muttered. "Sorry, chick, but I can't just let you loose on the city. You nearly blew my cover. And you're definitely not good. I don't like the sound of this guy either, but I can't let you go."

"Very well then, Gilbert Beilschmidt." She said, with an air of finality. "Let us do battle." He took out his sword, and she readied herself by transforming into her icy self once more.

Gilbert adjusted his grip a little, and swung at her, as she jumped back and did a back flip. Gripping onto the fire escape of the building they were hiding in the alley of, she threw icicles down at him, making him use his cloak to shield himself.

"You can do better than that." He jeered, and jumped up the sides of the building, grunting lowly as he did so. She shrieked at him, and tossed another icicle at him, and he had to dangle from someone's laundry. "Or maybe you're doing just fine."

She took advantage of his prone state, and out of ice fashioned a sword, to cut the line and make him drop down three stories. He could heal, but not from a fall like that. He jumped, and fell onto the fire escape just below hers. This put him at her mercy, and he tossed himself out of the way as a chunk of ice fell on top of where he had been laying two seconds before.

"Jesus." He cursed, rubbing his hair. "You fight dirty." He jumped again, this time up to the floor above his, to meet her, and sliced at her with his sword, which he had been heating up to chop through her ice. She shrieked in pain, and he smirked in triumph. "There we go." He jumped onto the escape with her, and pointed his sword at the bleeding woman. "It's over." He said, with an air of finality. She charged at him, and he sliced her in half. She then toppled over, breathing hard for a few seconds, before she died. Blood dripped down the fire escape, and Gilbert felt bad.

"I'm sorry." He told her corpse, and left in a rush, leaving the women who lived on that floor to find a dead unregistered Super, who also had a criminal record.

XXXX

That night, Gilbert sat in the tree outside of her home- where _she_ lived with _him_.

He watched with envy, with spite, but most of all, with love.

Undoubtedly, her boyfriend had been woken up at the discovery of the dead Natalia Arlovskaya, and she was alone, sitting at the kitchen table, staring at her coffee mug. He sighed in longing.

That was before the tree branch he was sitting on broke, and he fell right smack on his ass in her flower garden.

She looked up suddenly, obviously frightened by the noise.

"Oh shit." He grumbled, frowning as he struggled to stand. She grabbed her rifle, and came outside, pointing it at him immediately.

"Stay where you are!" She called at him, painting a pretty threatening picture as he grimaced behind his mask. She ran outside with her gun.

"Look, Elizaveta," He began, accidentally using her name. "I don't want any trouble."

"How the _holy fuck_ do you know my name?" She said, her voice getting higher pitched, and the _click-click_ of the gun was audible to Gilbert.

"Fuck." He repeated his inner thoughts. "I should not have said that."

"How do you know my name?" She asked again, aiming directly for his heart as it beat hard against his chest. Fuck shit damn.

"Uh, I…" He coughed, feeling himself blush. "I make a point to know the names of the citizens I stand for."

"Holy shit." She was in disbelief. "You're the White Knight. You're here, in my petunias. Not with the girl they found. Holy shit."

"Yes, yes, I know, holy shit indeed." He grumbled, figuring that had been a shitty reason anyway. "Look, lady, I got a _kid_ at home. I gotta run." He stood up in her petunia patch, and the gun was immediately retrained on him from where it had dropped slightly in her disbelief.

"You aren't going anywhere, _punk_." She growled, and got closer to him. "Roderich's been on your ass for years. And I've finally got you."

"Can't I catch a damn **break**?" He muttered to himself, shaking his head as he put his hands up. "Come on, I have a cute little kid, at home, in bed. Can't I just leave?"

"You are a dangerous, unregistered Super." She responded quickly, the idea ingrained in her mind.

"Registering yourself is submitting yourself to mind control. Making you lose your powers that you were born with."

"It takes the threat out of you." She replied. "You are dangerous. A threat to society."

"God, do you even _hear_ yourself? You sound like Roderich, always obsessing over registering Supers, when he is one himself. What a blood traitor. And I killed the woman who wanted him dead." Gilbert said, frustrated, and wanting her to agree with him once more.

This surprised her. "Roderich is a super?"

"Yes, he's quite the virtuoso, haven't you noticed? His music is able to enchant people. So, in return for turning in Supers, he got to keep his powers." Otherwise she would remember.

She would remember him, and they would be together.

"Y-You're lying." She said, though her hand shook a little. "Roderich isn't a...a _freak!_"

"Is that what you _really_ think of him, or is it drivel he spouts into your ears?" He asked, sighing as he watched her behind his mask. "Either way, he wouldn't have been able to sing his way out of this one, so he should be _thanking_ me, not that his miserable life deserves it."

Gilbert saw that her hands fumbled on the gun, and he took the opportunity to jump into the tree, and ran out on her-

He ran away from the very woman who used to be his partner, his loving girlfriend, and his ally in protecting the peace.

XXXX

When he got home at four in the morning, he started making a boysenberry pie. He had promised his little brother after all. It didn't matter that he was exhausted. His brother was the most important thing in his life- other than his ex-partner, ex-lover, Elizaveta.

But she was lost to him. The cold hatred in her eyes the last time they had encountered one another had been proof enough of that.

She _had_ been the wondrous Iron Maiden, the source of his super strength and inner strength.

Gilbert was a copycat. He was allowed to steal powers from other Supers, though they were as powerful as the original powers themselves. But he would never use most of his collection. Most of the powers he had learned from villainous scum, who used their powers for evil. There were cases where the powers were damn useful, however- For example, Arthur Kirkland's pyrokinesis in the case of Natalia Arlovskaya.

As he baked, his resolve was strengthened. He wouldn't kill his cousin, he would let him have the wonderful woman known as Erzébet. He would let him win. So long as he continued to fight crime in her name, not all was lost. He would fight Supers who gave their whole race a bad name, and humans who were scum of the earth.

He wasn't going to try and win her back. She was too far gone.

By six in the morning, a wonderful pie was ready to go for his little brother.

His new life, the one that begun after her.

That particular little bundle of love had appeared on his doorstep one morning, an unwanted Super child in the time where Supers were killed- it had been a curse, it had been a blessing, Gilbert didn't know what to do about it.

After he lost Elizaveta, Ludwig had given him a reason to live. It had been four years since that day.

XXXX

_Four Years ago..._

"Do you have anything left to say, Arthur Kirkland?" Gilbert Beilschmidt asked him, as the burned out man looked down.

"I'm so sorry." He muttered, closing his eyes. Gilbert got it over with quickly, chopping his head off.

The burned down house surrounding them told them a story Gilbert didn't want to hear. He burned Arthur Kirkland's body quietly, Elizaveta watching to the side of him.

"This is what uncontrolled powers do to the good in society." An unwanted voice called out, and the two masked figures turned over to where Roderich Edelstein stood, and he caught Elizaveta. Gilbert called out for her, and she told him to run, struggling as she broke the arms of her captor.

The woman had yelled to him: she could make it out of there just fine. Gilbert took off at a run, listening to his lover that he would never see again, not in the same way she had told him to run.

He heard a sultry voice start singing, and saw the love of his life losing her fight as she gave into Roderich Edelstein. It was that moment he would never forgive his cousin.

That day four years ago.

The next morning, he had been storked by a young Super mother, clearly wanting her child to be taken in as a non-registered Super. It was a tiny baby, red in the face and screaming its head off. Gilbert read the note left, explaining the mother was going to turn herself in as a Super, but didn't want her child to live forever in stigma. Gilbert took the child in as his baby brother, naming him Ludwig.

He would always protect the innocent, even if he had not been able to protect _her_.

XXXX

The next morning, he saw himself all over the news as his brother grabbed a plate for pie, and served himself. He smiled tiredly. "How's it taste."

"Awesome!" He cried out, and started chomping down as Gilbert watched the clearly biased report on how the White Knight attacked and killed a troubled Super. These stories were always the _worst_.

"Lutz, turn off the TV." He said. "I don't want you listening to this trash."

"Gil, are you a Super sympathizer?" He asked, sounding reticient to ask him this, which surprised Gilbert. "I defended a Super girl the other day and got called that." Gilbert felt a pang in his chest at that information.

"Don't speak like that." He said, stern. "There's _nothing_ wrong with defending Supers." Gilbert bent over, looking serious, staring right into Ludwig's eyes. "Those people are assholes. You can tell them that Super violence only grew after the Registration rules, because Supers can't control themselves anymore." He hugged his brother. "More than that, you are a Super. Your mother told me the day she gave you to me." Ludwig looked a little shocked.

"I'm a freak?" He asked, voice small.

"You aren't a freak." He hugged him tighter. "The fact is, there are more Supers than Humans now days. They want to control us before we control them. You don't have to tell anyone you're a Super, Lutz. I love you either way, because I'm a Super too."

This seemed to comfort Ludwig, and Gilbert kissed his forehead. "Now, I gotta get you off to school." He said, smiling. "Let's finish getting ready, okay?"

XXXX

"Is that what you really think of him, or is it drivel he spouts into your ears?" His voice rang in her ears, making her question her entire life. She lay in bed, wide awake as she ran over the appearance of the White Knight in her head. He had been skinny, short, but proud, shoulders back and head up. He was proud even as he completely fell on his ass into her petunias.

Elizaveta Héderváry didn't remember her life from before four years ago, and it was starting to bother her now. Roderich was a wonderful pianist, and an even better singer.

Extraordinary, she would dare say.

"You could do a little digging on your own." The voice that she knew was imagined piped up from beside her. The face was fuzzy, but the skin was pale and muscled, naked as he lay in bed beside her. This scene was normal. "It wouldn't hurt to know. Maybe you can find out who I am."

"Roderich says that you are a hallucination."

"Or am I a memory of yours trying to come back? What does he want you to think? He wants you to love him, of course."

"But I do love him." She said, halfheartedly. "I do."

"Then why don't I have his face?" And the picture was completed. In a heartbeat, the face became clear. It was pale, and handsome, and…. it was _undoubtedly_ the face of the White Knight, but in that same heartbeat, the face was once again masked, and the image of _him_ was lost. "And why does he insist you do not go looking for people who knew you before?" The problem was, her hallucination was making sense now.

"Are you saying that….I'm a registered Super?" She said, tentatively.

"Technically, I'm only _your_ thoughts Elizaveta. Or maybe, you don't have that ridiculous name at all. It's very westernized for a woman with such a heavy accent."

The name Erzébet came to mind.

She thought it suited her much better than Elizaveta.

"That sounds more Hungarian to me." The White Knight was self-satisfied, smirking under his mask. "You could go check the records under Erzébet Héderváry."

Elizaveta fiddled with her hands. "Alright. I'll also look under Roderich. I should check, at least." She sighed, getting up and out of her nightgown. "Although, if Roderich did make a deal, it probably wouldn't be in records of registered Supers; that would just be counterproductive for him."

And the naked man beside her was gone, and she sighed deeply, knowing that she would likely see him again sometime in her dreams.

Had she been in love with the White Knight? But how could she ever find him? And if she did, how could she know that she could trust him?

XXXX

There came a furious knocking at Gilbert's door, and he groaned. He was just going to have a bad week, wasn't he? "Coming." He called out to whoever was knocking, and got up, shuffling to the door.

He was unsurprised when it turned out to be Roderich Edelstein. "Good day, Gilbert." He sniffed, disdainful.

"Oh shit, it's the popo." He muttered. "What are you doing at my house?" He asked, grumbling. "Can't you tell I was sleeping?"

"I am here for your alibi of course. Or, do you not have one this time, _White Knight_?" Gilbert groaned.

"Can't you just give it a rest? I've already been tested negative for Super powers, Roddy. I don't have super strength, I can't conjure fire, I can't even heal like he can." He had never been tested for a copycat gene, though. The thought almost made him snicker. "I have science behind me. And I have an alibi witnesses agree with, I'm betting."

"Oh, and what's that?" He bit out, clearly frustrated.

"I was on a date with Natalia Arlovskaya, and was tossed into a wall. I passed out as the White Knight drew her attention away from the diners. The last thing I saw was him jumping in front of me."

"How did you know it was him?"

"I watch the _news. _But that might be a revolutionary concept for you." Gilbert said it like it should be obvious. And of course it should be obvious then. Roderich had just told him the White Knight had been there, as well- Roderich wasn't going about his investigation very well.

"Can you show me bruises?" The bullet wounds were just scars now, but the big ugly bruise on his back didn't heal as fast. He turned around, and was clearly bruised over his back and neck. "Humph. You should have gone to the hospital." Roderich muttered, suspicious.

"So you could put me in jail for being injured the same time the White Knight was injured? I would prefer not to go through _that_ ordeal again. Ludwig was already waiting for me." He rolled his eyes. "Anyway, am I free to go now, _officer_?" Roderich grumbled, and left him in a flurry, grumbling to himself.

Once he was inside and the door was shut behind him, Gilbert laughed at him. He sighed after a few minutes, shedding a few tears. "That's funny Roderich. Continue trying to prove that conspiracy theory, I dare you. Let's see how fast you lose your credibility." Thanks to the law, Roderich couldn't approach Ludwig, not after the restraining order Gilbert had put him under after he had slapped a three year old boy for not going along with him.

He got into the bed again, sighing as his head hit the pillow and he passed out, practically.

XXXX

Waking up was far less fun. He had to be up for Ludwig, to pick him up because he could never make the bus. He moaned, hardly wanting to wake up. He forced himself out of bed; feeling like it had only been minutes since he had laid his head down last.

He grabbed a bag of chips, and got into his car, driving at exactly the speed limit the whole way. Roderich was following him in his police car. He called the actual police then, saying that an officer, for no legitimate reason, was tailing him, on his way to pick up his brother from school. That got Roderich off his tail pretty damn fast.

Roderich was only allowed to chase him when Ludwig wasn't involved- a good thing, to be honest. The boy didn't need to become involved, not for something like this.

When he got to the school, he opened the automatic door on his van, and let Ludwig in, grinning. "How was your day, Lutz?" He asked, being happy for his brother's sake.

"It was good!" He said, brightly. "That little girl gave me flowers for helping her out yesterday!"

"See, I told you it was the right thing to do." He smiled, and closed the automatic door, bringing him home. "There are chips in the back for you, buddy." And Ludwig frowned at him.

"You should provide a healthy option sometimes, big brother!" He said, sternly. Gilbert laughed.

"This is a rare sight. It's not every day a four year old complains about getting junk food." He turned his rearview mirror to look at him better. "If it bugs you that much, wait until we get home to eat. You can have an apple or something."

He was being tailed again. He called the police again, saying Roderich was breaking code, but he found out it wasn't Roderich tailing him.

Uh oh.


	2. Goodnight Moon

Part 2: Goodnight Moon

Elizaveta Héderváry was feeling her life fall apart. "I'm not surprised. The White Knight was always right in the end, even if he didn't go through due process." Her oldest friend sat beside her, newly cleared up and no longer a mystery as to who precisely was before her.

"Shut up." She said, with her voice muffled by grief. The brunette was reading her own file in the records. She had been _the _Iron Maiden, the White Knight's _partner_.

How could this be true? How could Roderich have just…lied to her for four years now? That just made it all the worse! She knew, the man, once one she had loved as much as he loved her, was preparing to propose to her as well.

He- Roderich, a man she had trusted…and loved- had been her captor!

She felt her phone crush in her hand in her anger and grief.

It all made sense now. Why Roderich was obsessed with finding the White Knight, why she broke things on accident that, feasibly, no human could break. And most importantly, why her memories _didn't_ make sense

Her strange dreams finally were put into perspective, understanding them to be memories.

She _had_ to find someone to talk to about this. Elizabeta tossed her phone aside, and her brain went directly to the thought of the one person who would take her side in this matter.

The person Roderich persecuted more than anyone- Gilbert Beilschmidt- Loud, obnoxious, foul-mouthed, but a person who would never go to Roderich for anything; also a known Super sympathizer.

He would understand- er, _probably_.

The woman, now suffering an identity crisis from the years of lies, put down her file, the incriminating document practically burning her hand.

She didn't bother looking up Roderich's.

The White Knight had been _right_. Elizabeta- _Erzebet-_ her brain quietly corrected her- was a _Super_, caught and registered, a literal _prize_ or…worse, a trophy- won by Roderich and then kept captive, like a bird in a cage.

That was how the White Knight had known her name. He had been her partner. It was a shock, but it also left more questions for her. Why did he never try to get her? Why did he appear outside last night? Why did he seem hesitant to talk to her?

"You weren't exactly welcoming." The specter reminded her. "Didn't you call him a punk and threatened to kill him?" He tilted his head at her, and she thought back, now unsettled.

"Shut it, hoser." Elizaveta threw him a grimace. "I had no way of knowing."

The woman tossed her phone to the side- she would never answer a phone call from _him_ again.

"So you're finally going to try and find out why you can't remember things? Well, better late than never." The specter beside her said, and she flashed a menacing glare towards him, making him laugh. "Maybe you _are_ going crazy."

"Shut it. I'm going to see Gilbert Beilschmidt." She told it, to satisfy the quiet gaze she recognized as inquisitive.

"Didn't you tell that guy you hated his guts the last time you saw him?" The specter made a grimace. "_He's_ the only place you can turn to? Can't you find me?" He asked, wondering; her hallucination was only echoing her own thoughts, which she ignored for the time being.

"The White Knight has eluded the police for years. What makes you think _I_ could find him now?" Erzebet said to herself.

"Maybe he'll find you. But, ah, I don't think you should alert anyone to the fact you've rediscovered your secret." Her hallucination, though he his head towards her with a bit of a smug attitude, _had_ a point.

However, all thoughts of that blew out of Erzebet's mind when she saw Gilbert laughing in his car; talking to the cute little boy he had been storked with four years ago- strangely, Gilbert was storked around the same time she, then called Elizabeta had been "found" by Roderich.

She had to go after him. She got into her car quickly, and strapped her seatbelt on. "This is a bad idea, Erzebet." Her hallucination told her, sitting beside her in the passenger's seat.

"What if he has the answers?" She growled out, and shoved her car into reverse, before slamming it into drive, and going into overdrive with a harsh stomp on her gas pedal.

And the chase was on.

XXXX

"Dammit, I can't seem to lose them!" He cussed in front of his brother as he hit the gas, taking off at a speeding pace, and not particularly caring as he drove out of the metro part of town.

"Gilbert!" Ludwig cried, hanging onto his seatbelt as he was being thrown about as Gilbert took a sharp turn. "What on earth are you doing?"

"Some shit is following us!" He called back, sounding a little panicked. After his close encounter with Natalia the other night, he had been reminded he had to be on high alert at all times, not just for the sake of his brother and for his own safety.

He went up a gear on his stick, grumbling as he slammed on the gas again, trying to shake the bitch as he went into one of those fancy neighborhoods with two story houses and horrible winding roads. As he jerked the car around the corner, pushing 70, he almost felt them flip, but it was a mercy when they did not.

"Brother, I'm scared." Ludwig was crying, looking absolutely terrified.

Gilbert pulled down the mirror to look at them, and flashed a grin, hiding his own nervousness. "Don't worry little bro, I got this!" The albino laughed, and then slowed down at the next turn, and tried to look into the windshield of the car riding his ass, only to see it was tinted.

That wasn't doing the damn red car any favors in his book.

He made a confusing path for the follower, and lost him after spending thirty whole minutes in some sort of neighborhood. His poor van was almost out of gas, and he had to pray as he got it to a station, Ludwig quivering in the back of the truck as Gilbert parked. He went to the back, and opened the doors, before opening his arms for a hug. He kissed his brother's forehead, and cradled him, rocking him back and forth. "It's alright now. I lost them." He said soothingly, rubbing his back. "We're safe now."

Ludwig started crying openly then, clinging onto Gilbert.

After he got Ludwig situated in the back seat again, he drove home especially slow, making people angry, but he didn't care.

Gilbert was just doing what was right for his little brother.

XXXX

When he was home, he got Ludwig into the bath, and got to work making bratwurst for dinner, rubbing his temples. That could have killed them both. He was ready to kill the little asshole that had spent that much time freaking them both out.

That was when he heard a knock on the door. He put the spatzle on to boil, and went to the door. "Roderich, if that's you, I'm calling the cops on your stupid ass." He opened the door, and his mouth dropped open. It was a pissed off looking Elizaveta.

"Oi. I was going after you for thirty whole minutes, and you didn't even bother to pull over!" She said, frustrated, and Gilbert felt kinda bad now, though he was still mostly pissed.

"You scared the ever loving shit outta me, princess." He grumbled. "Me and Lutz were _both_ freaked out. I thought it was one of Roddy's cronies."

"I told you not to call him that!" She snapped, before looking a bit put out all of a sudden. "A-anyway, I was here to ask a favor from you, but since it's obvious you aren't going to help, I'll-" He cut her off with a raised hand, interested in what she was going to him for, of all people.

"A favor? From me?" He raised an eyebrow, slightly suspicious. "Are you smoking dope?"

Her face turned bright red. "I'm trying to be serious here, Beilschmidt! If you won't help me, I'll just have to find some other bastard that doesn't like Roderich."

"No, no, I'll help you." He said, quietly. "But why me?"

"You hate Roderich more than life itself." She said, plainly. "I need to hide something from him. Where better to turn than a person who hates him?"

This further intrigued him. "Alright. I'm listening."

Her voice was a whisper. Elizabeta's face was closer to him than it had been in _years_, and it was all he could do not to take in a deep drink of her scent. "I think…. I think I might be a Super."

Gilbert's face hardened suddenly. "I think we need to talk." His voice was grim, face set in a frown.

XXXX

"So you're saying that I _am_ a Super. Well- I mean, I already knew _that_, since I read my own record, but I already told you all of that." Elizabeta stuttered a bit, confirming with him, but stumbling over her words as she rushed to talk to him about all of this. His presence was cool, accepting of all of this, as Gilbert gave her a word of caution.

"You put yourself in a _serious_ amount of danger Elizaveta- what if Roderich had seen you?" He asked, his face grave, red eyes staring straight into her green ones. "And yes. You _are_ a Super. A _registered_ Super."

She put her head into her hands. "Oh god, I had no idea… I only found out from the file, but I was reading it then, though! ….To hear someone tell me I'm a freak-"

"You aren't a freak." Gilbert corrected her immediately, not tolerating that sort of anti-Super talk. "You're just different from humans. Besides that, don't freak out, 'kay? We have to think up something still- what we can do to keep you safe now." His resolve had gone right out the window. He wasn't going to introduce himself to her as the White Knight, which was because he was the most wanted criminal in the city- even if she now knew she too was a Super.

"What do you mean?" Elizabeta murmured, her green eyes wide in fear. "How am I not safe…?"

Gilbert sighed. "Roderich buckles down pretty hard on Supers. If he catches you, you'll forget everything all over again. It took you four _years_ to get curious enough to investigate for yourself. Imagine how much harder it would be if he got around to convincing you to never _look_ in the records." He pointed out the obvious, brow furrowing.

"I-I didn't know…" Elizabeta looked scared now. "Do you think he could…hurt me?"

"If you think you're exempt from the strict Super laws, then you're kidding yourself." He said, plainly. "That should be worry number 3 though. First worry is how you're going to pretend that you're still under his thumb."

"I have to go _back_ to him?" She sounded outraged, standing up and slamming her fists on his table, making Gilbert raise his hands defensively.

"Uh, _yeah_, unless you want to raise alarm." He was cool, though a bit sarcastic. He knew what to do, and so he explained it in utter calmness. "In the next few weeks, find things that bother you about him. Then, explain all these things to him, and just break up- move out, while you're at it. That's the best way to go about it." He finished, looking up at her expectantly.

"I'm _not_ happy about it." Elizabet grumbled. "But it's better than what I have right now. Thanks for your help, moron." The brown hair woman who held his heart got up to leave, getting to the door and waving. She paused at the door, her green eyes glaring at him poisonously. "Don't think this means I like you. I'm going to be looking for help from someone else _entirely_."

His door slammed, but her voice rang in his ears, making his heart _ache_ horribly, those last words injuring him more than anything else she had said.

Since that other person, the one she was looking for, was probably, also him.

XXXX

"Was he any help?" Her memory asked her, in full costume now as she drove home.

"I don't know." Elizabeta sighed. "His point is valid, but I _hate_ his guts."

Her grip on the wheel tightened. "He seemed genuinely concerned about me, though." She mumbled. "…but the White Knight isn't Gilbert." Her mind finished, though Roderich had always told her that he was.

Honestly that was the terrifying thing- She didn't know what to think anymore, what was true and what was lies fed to her to keep her in the dark about the truth.

Elizabeta drove home quietly after that, the specter of the White Knight disappearing as she pondered on Gilbert's words. No, she didn't think she was exempt, but…after four years, would Roderich treat her like any other Super if she revealed she remembered?

Gilbert had been convinced that he would. But he _also_ hated Roderich.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, Elizabeta reminded herself, trying to rid herself of those poisonous thoughts.

Gilbert did know what he was talking about, and had been exposed to Roderich's true self far more often than she had. And, moreover, Roderich was certainly her enemy now. Now that she knew he had hidden the truth from her for four years, her thoughts of him were far less fond.

She went over the conversation with the White Knight again. He had shaken his head at something, before trying to appeal to her humanity by saying he had a _kid_ at home.

A child. Her mouth went dry as her mind raced with possibilities and she parked erratically in her own garage, closing the door. She licked her lips, feeling as though they were too dry.

There _had_ been a time when the White Knight's activity had gone down- for two years between her being "found" and now.

"Are you thinking that you might be a mother?" Her memory of the White Knight asked her, sitting beside her, naked in the front seat, as she sat in her own garage.

Elizaveta fiddled with her hands. "I won't think that until I have better evidence. But…. it gives me just another reason to fight Roderich."

The specter nodded, and she got out of the car, and pat down her skirt as she went inside, faking a smile as she expected Roderich to be waiting at the front door, but was surprised when he wasn't.

Instead, trails of rose petals lead her into the kitchen. Had this been two days before, she would be swooning right about now, but now, after all that has occurred, she was wary of this. She walked into the kitchen, and smiled as she saw Roderich waiting for her, looking a tad nervous.

"Elizaveta, I know that we've been dating for three and a half years now, and I'd like to take the next step." He got down onto one knee, and Elizabeta's mouth felt dry as a bone.

"Will you give me the honor of marrying me?" There was a large ring, and his violet eyes were looking up to her lovingly, the picture of adoration, but there was also a certain smugness that she couldn't quite quantify.

"No." Her voice resounded in the silent kitchen, and he looked shocked, their eyes meeting at an impasse, both unsure for the moment.

"No?" He asked, confused. "But I thought you loved me."

"Just because I date you, doesn't mean I'll marry you." Elizaveta said, firmly, her hands balling into fists as she swallowed the last of her doubt- her green eyes hardening. There would be no return to normalcy of living with Roderich.

"Why on earth is that?" He was frozen, a perfect picture of harsh confusion, and no small amount of pure heartbreak.

"Y-You're stuffy, arrogant, and always you assume I'm on your side, even when I'm not." To be honest, she was stealing a little bit of her argument from Gilbert. "You don't treat me like a person with feelings…but like, like I'm some kind of doll you can put coins into, and get a prize out for it." But that would be alright, it would just be another ego boost for him. "And…and I don't think I'm _ready_ to marry."

She felt a little guilty for saying all these things, as Roderich looked genuinely hurt at her wounding words. "I won't force you," He murmured, putting away the ring and standing up, his shoulders slumped forward a little.. "And I'll give you time to think about it. But I love you Elizaveta, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

But Elizaveta was quietly thinking to herself, you love the me you created from a previous person. Not the real me.

The White Knight was standing where Roderich had been two seconds before, and lifted his mask up to smile at her. "Well done, Erzébet."

God, she hoped she was doing the right thing. Roderich started cleaning up the rose petals on the floor, and she knelt down to help him.

She had to hurry, because she was going to go out and patrol, and _hopefully_ would run into a certain someone. Someone she was going to get, and they would be happy again- together.

XXXX

That night when Gilbert patrolled, he was mulling over the deep resounding sadness inside of him. While Elizaveta had rediscovered her Super powers, she still hasn't remembered _precisely _who Gilbert was- that was the most disappointing thing, to be honest.

What should he do, or more accurately- what _could_ he do? He could try and bring her home to him, but that could backfire and she would leave him forever.

He wouldn't know what he would do if that happened.

Gilbert tried not to think about that option.

He saw his prey then, a thief stealing from a jewelry shop. He unsheathed his sword, and jumped down into the alleyway to catch him, only to be surprised. Someone had jumped in front of him- with a rather recognizable mop of brown hair, and a tacky outfit, which- unfortunately- looked more like she was an accomplice of the thief rather than a Superhero.

"I got this one partner." Elizaveta said cheerfully as she raised her fists up, to fight. She was in sweats, a tank, with her hair in a bun and a ski mask on her face.

Jesus, this was going to be rough.

"What on earth are you doing!?" He hissed, "Leave this to the _professionals_, rookie!"

"I just want to help you!" She looked incredibly disappointed in his sour reaction to her appearance. "Come on, I can do this!" She caught the robber by the arm, and swung him around to face her. Gilbert winced as she punched the guy.

"Hey, watch it! You're going to give him _brain_ _damage_!" He sharply yelled at her, shaking his head, rubbing his temples a bit. Elizabeta looked surprised as she looked to his own disapproving stance. Gilbert huffed, and took the dazed criminal from her. "You don't know your own strength." He reminded, chastising her. "You've lost _years_ of experience, and you don't know how to use your powers properly."

"But..." She began, before he raised a hand to cut her off.

"No buts. It's _excellent_ to see you fighting again, Lizzy, but for goodness _sake_, take a class or something. They say fighting always comes naturally, but _yikes_. You are rus-_ty_, Iron Maiden." Gilbert whistled, and picked up the criminal in a fireman's lift. "Now you take the jewels, and I'll drop off this fucker at the hospital with a note." And _then_ he would get outta dodge.

Elizaveta couldn't find out it was Gilbert, the guy who lived next door, not until the right time-if it ever came to a point where he was able to do so.

"Wait for me!" She called back to his disappearing frame, running as fast as she could to catch him. He started walking faster, despite her protests. Either way, she still caught up quickly. That made him groan internally, shaking his head and rolling his eyes behind his white mask.

Couldn't he catch a goddamned _break_? This whole week had been bad luck central.

Gilbert didn't want her to fall in love with a fake persona, a façade to hide his real identity. He wanted her to love him for _Gilbert_, the true him, the guy she had loved last time, when they had slowly fallen for each other, as best friends, rivals, and partners. That was how they had done it last time, and it had been so amazing to love her like that; as intimate as they were last time.

"Jeez, are you _trying_ to lose me?" Elizabeta had to speed walk to keep up with him. "I wanted to ask you. Did you and I date before?" He couldn't see her face, but her body language gave away her hopefulness.

"Yes. We did." He said, curtly. "_Before_ you were brainwashed and taught to hate me. Yanno. That kinda hampers a relationship." He tilted his head backwards, and turned around to start walking again, trying to shut her down, and being rather unsuccessful.

"See, about that." She began, and this time, Gilbert groaned audibly. "I'm starting…to _remember_ things from before, and…and I wanted to know if you could take off your mask so we can meet face to face!" She took off her own, smiling. Gilbert really _was_ tempted. He really was. He _loved_ her, after all. He loved her as much as he loved the stars at night, certain like the sky above them.

_But_ this meeting could go sour in a heartbeat, he knew, even though it pained him to know, to resist the temptation.

So he had to wait.

"The Erzébet I loved died four years ago." He grumbled, plainly. "And until I know you are out from Roderich's thumb, l can't reveal myself to you. It could be a trap." He was telling her the truth. This would be dangerous, after all.

She had let her hopes get too high, only to crash now. "I thought we were partners..." Elizabeta watched him quietly, putting her mask back on and covering her bright green eyes a bit.

"Note the use of the past tense." He was a bit gruff with her. "That's all that needs to be said."

They had walked in silence for a long time after that. "How can I prove it to you that I'm no longer under Roderich's control."

"You can't. Not to me. I have my own way of watching you, all right? Trust me, I'll know when it's safe to trust you." Gilbert told her flatly, turning his head towards her as he dropped off the criminal. "Here's where we part ways."

"What. But…I just got here." She whispered, her upset clear in every inch of her body.

"You're untrained. Dangers to yourself as well as others- humans already have a piss poor opinion of us. Take a class on it, okay? Then _maybe_ I'll consider it." He jumped onto the fire escape of the alleyway by the hospital, and again to make it to the roof of the building beside it. Elizaveta watched him right up until he disappeared under the cover of darkness.

XXXX

He stayed out until three, and then decided to go home, knowing his little brother would need him there in the morning, in some kind of decent condition. Gilbert sighed softly, before he realized someone was following him.

"Who's there?" He asked, warily.

"It's us, dumbass." A distinctly accented voice called to him, and Francis Bonnefoy stepped out into the light, unmasked. He was a Super that had gone into hiding. Next to him was Antonio, and both were old friends during the Golden Age, the early 2100s.

"You've put on the pounds." Gilbert stated bluntly, noticing a fair bit of chub on Francis' belly. "Ain't my fault I didn't recognize you."

"Yes, yes, delicacy was _never_ your strong suit." He said, sounding a bit ticked off. "Still keeping up the old routine, I see."

"I'm not one to stop fighting." He grinned, going over to him happily. "What are you two doing here for? Didn't you go to Europe or something?"

"For you, amigo," Antonio said, easily. "You should move over to Europe with us. The situation there is so much better-one by one, they're finally lifting the laws against Supers, you know, and are helping those whose memories were erased."

Gilbert was shocked. "How come I didn't hear about this?" He asked, quietly, concerned about his and Lutz's safety.

"American news is keeping it quiet, they don't want unregistered Supers getting away." Gilbert nodded, humming.

"That makes sense." He said, thoughtfully. "I haven't seen you guys in years, how about you two come over to my place?" He invited, grinning at them- though they couldn't see it, they knew he probably was super excited to have them back around.

"We'd enjoy that." Francis said, and they went their separate ways, meeting up at Gilberts home, once he was changed and fit for guests.

"Why were you guys out at 4 in the morning?" Ludwig asked, crankily after Gilbert had introduced him to his two old friends.

"I had a hot date." He lied easily. "And it went on a little too long. Then these idiots found me, and here we are." He grinned as he picked up his little brother. "Let's get you back to bed, silly, you still have _two_ _whole hours_ before you need to get up.

Gilbert quickly tucked Ludwig back into bed with a kiss to the forehead, and went back out to his old friends.

"I dunno if I wanna leave this place." He was very honest here, licking his lips nervously, but otherwise grimacing. "There is a _huge_, unchecked amount of Supers that are _dangerous_ because they aren't in control of themselves, and I want to be a part of the change that will take place."

"Think of your little boy." Antonio pleaded. "He's a Super, isn't he? It will be safer if he leaves America's tattered states and head for the safety of Europe."

That stopped him in his tracks. That was something that was _definitely_ important to him, perhaps even more important than protecting the general populace.

"Where's Erzébet?" Francis asked, suddenly looking a little curious and worried.

Gilbert looked down, his face crumpling in sorrow, and it dawned on both of them what happened.

"Gilbert, I'm so sorry." Antonio said, quietly. "She was a wonderful woman."

"I'm sorry we didn't come back. If we had, perhaps Erzébet would still be among us." Francis said, looking grim.

"That's yet another reason I can't leave yet." He said, voice soft. "I have unfinished business left here."

"Gilbert, you know that Supers under the thumb of the city never remember." Antonio said, sternly, his green eyes showing his worry for his friend.

"But that's just it." He mumbled. "She hasn't remembered, but she _knows_ that her life is a lie, and she's actually the Iron Maiden." Gilbert sighed, rubbing his temples.

"What?" Francis looked surprised and interested. "She knows? But, _how_?"

"I said her name." He grumbled, still irritated with himself. "I slipped up and revealed how much I know about her, and we got into an argument about Roderich, and somewhere along the line, she looked in the records of Supers that employers use when they're hiring someone. She discovered her life was a lie." He used his hands to then rub the nape of his neck.

"Mi amigo," Antonio said, brightening up. "That means you can win her over again!"

"I doubt I could." He looked sheepish. "Elizaveta-what she's called now- hates my guts."

"She hated your guts _then_ too." They said in unison. "You still found your own, special way to charm her."

"The real difficult thing is- she's infatuated with the White Knight."

They shared sympathetic looks. The worst thing about being a superhero was the crazy groupies.

"She's not that bad, though. Just wants to get back into the swing of things with me, and I don't want her to love that self, I want her to love me." Gilbert explained.

"You sound so gay right now," Francis chuckled, "But I understand the workings of love."

They chatted for a little while longer, before Francis looked at Antonio, and they nodded. "We're going back to our hotel room, and will be getting some rest. We're tired. We'll stay here until you make a decision."

"Who looks gay now?" Gilbert smirked, putting his hands on his hips with confidence, and they all laughed again.

It was good to talk with old friends, after so long.


End file.
